ARTS & EVENTS

Bohemian Rhapsody: Ed Hamilton

Photo courtesy Rita BarrosYOU COULD WRITE A BOOK on the role that Manhattan's grand, seedy Chelsea Hotel played in the lives of the countless artistic greats who stayed there.

Ed Hamilton did just that. "Legends of the Chelsea Hotel: Living With Artists and Outlaws in New York's Rebel Mecca" fuses personal stories of his life in the residential hotel over the past 12 years with funny, detailed portraits of both the hotel's towering talents and many unheralded loons.

On Thursday, the blogger will appear at Olsson's. Hamilton's stories about living with Dee Dee Ramone, Harry Smith and Ryan Adams, unearthing Charles James' drafting table and the like will attract many. But the chapters about being threatened by Storme DeLarverie (the drag king who says she threw the first punch at Stonewall) and combating hordes of junkies using beat writer Herbert Huncke's erstwhile restroom are even better.

"It's the last outpost of bohemia," Hamilton said. "It's not all about the bottom line. Our owner, Stanley Bard, kept rents affordable and would give people a break if they couldn't pay for a while."

Bard would even take paintings in lieu of rent, Hamilton said, which was the type of thing his partners cited last year in banning Bard from running the hotel for a decade.
The weirdest thing Hamilton's seen? "I like the one about Dee Dee Ramone encountering the ghost of Sid [Vicious] in Sid's room. Dee Dee always had a story."

» Olsson's, 1307 19th St. NW; Thu., 7 p.m., free; 202-785-1133 (Dupont Circle)

Written by Express contributor Tim Follos
Photo courtesy Rita Barros

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COMMENTS (1)

  • The NEW UPDATED EDITION of "On The Road With The Ramones."
    With new pages, photos and info on what's been happening to the legacy of the Ramones since 2003.
    This is a MUST-HAVE book for all Ramones fans. Based around the story of Monte A. Melnick who was the Ramones tour manager (and much more) throughout their entire career (1974-1996, and 2,263 live shows). It's an inside look from the people who were actually there witnessing and experiencing all the extreme highs and lows of one of rock's greatest bands. The book is packed with interviews from the Ramones and many many more people who where very close to the band. There is over 250 photographs and pictures of memorabilia Monte collected along the way. Buy it, read it and then revisit their albums. You'll never look at the Ramones in the same light.
    Rock On!

    By Road Cat , Posted January 31, 2008 8:37 AM
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